I’ve always told myself that the first 10 minutes of class sets the tone for the entire class. Now, I’m not saying this is 100% true, but it is what I like to tell myself – haha.

In this first 10 minutes of class, my students have time to come in, get situated (sharpen their pencils/get out their Chromebooks), use the restroom if needed, ask any questions about homework, and begin the daily bell ringer I have posted. I also use this time to take attendance and start a Google Meet – for synchronous learning.
Just like any other teacher, I like when my students come in and quickly get on task. In a dream world that would happen everyday, BUT we don’t teach in a dream world – at least I don’t, lol. However, what I have found to help my students most with getting on task as soon as they enter my classroom is using daily agenda slides in Google Classroom. There are SO many wonderful agenda slides out there, but I decided I needed to create my own – to best fit my learning support classroom needs. These slides play the most important role in those first 10 minutes.
Here’s a quick run down of what my students find on my SmartBoard at the beginning of each class period:
1. students are greeted by  “Good Morning” or
“Good Afternoon”
2.  the day’s date is posted for my students to very easily see
3. our to-do list for the day (everything we will be completing in class)
4. our daily GIF
I like my students to get involved with our daily agenda slides, so I have them take turns sharing a GIF with me to use. 
5. the daily bell ringer
 
6. the name and time of the class period, with a link to the period’s Google Classroom “Classwork” stream
7. a timer to keep students on task
I share my daily agenda slides at the beginning of each class period. They are also shared in that class period’s Google Classroom – for my students working from home. I make a few daily updates on the slides each morning during my homeroom period so that the students know exactly what is going on in their class that day.

 

I don’t make a different Google Slide file for each class period. I keep all of my daily slides in the same Google Slide file. I always leave this Google Slide tab on my SmartBoard. I just click whichever class slide I need to present.

 

When students walk into my classroom their daily class agenda slide is the first thing they see. Once the bell rings, I put the class’s daily agenda slide into “Present” mode. The 8 minute timer starts automatically. The rest of the time looks like this… 
 
Ok – let me start out completely honest. The first minute or two are usually laughs about the GIF submitted by a student the previous day, which I don’t mind… I giggle, too – haha.
Once the laughs have subsided, students get situated and then begin to work on their bell ringer. ELA bell ringers consist of their Calendar Quick Writes – in Google Slides. These particular bell ringers are always located in their Google Classroom “Classwork” stream. Math bell ringers consist of a review math problem from the day before. I type it directly onto the slide. As of recently, students have been sharing their math bell ringers to me via a free website called Whiteboard.fi. This website is a saved bookmark on each of their computers, making it easy for them to find.
After students have completed their bell ringer, they can close out and go into our Google Classroom.
I give students a heads-up when one minute remains.
When the timer goes off and the 8 minutes are up, I give students a minute to share their writing responses or to go over the answer to the math problem. We also take a minute to discuss our daily “to-do” list and what we will be doing for the remainder of the class.
Finally, I just tap on the Google Classroom image and it takes me right to that class period’s Google Classroom “Classwork” feed.
It really is as simple as that. Having clear expectations posted, as well as having my students in a routine as soon as they walk into my classroom, has been huge in helping me transition into the day’s Lessons(s), having students stay on task, and ultimately set the tone for the class period.
If you are interested in using my editable Class Agenda Slides for Google Classroom, you can find them in my TPT shop by clicking the image below. There are several different design options to choose from, as well as a video included on how I set up mine.
I have also included the link to my Digital Calendar Quick Writes, that my students use as their ELA bell ringers. This is currently a growing bundle that I update monthly.